


"the purpose of life is to love"

by sylviewashere



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Erin has anxiety and I'm projecting my anxious habits onto her, F/F, Multi, One Shot, Other, basically everyone is gay and they have to have a Talk because there are many Feelings, idk what else to tag, it's like a superhero origin story only for polybusters, polybusters - Freeform, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-08-20
Packaged: 2018-08-09 21:59:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7818853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sylviewashere/pseuds/sylviewashere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>someone requested that I write about how polybusters ended up being polybusters</p><p>so have an origin story</p>
            </blockquote>





	"the purpose of life is to love"

**Author's Note:**

> thank you to GravityAlex for requesting this because it made me actually go through with a fic idea I had for once 
> 
> this is the longest thing I've written and actually finished that's how dedicated I am to these four tbh
> 
> nonbeta'd and kinda messy but these four are a mess in general so it's fine

Abby whooped as she dropped the last of her boxes into her new home. Well, all the Ghostbusters’ new home. If one could call the third floor of the firehouse a “home”. 

Even after the “ghostpocalypse”, as Holtzmann was calling it, there was no shortage of paranormal activity in the city. There were a lot of late nights for the four of them, and often times no one felt like heading back home after a bust. Especially Holtzmann, who tended to work through nights, even after a Class IV bust. She claimed to get her best ideas after finding out which weapons didn’t work while on the job. 

Since the ladies had started crashing at headquarters more and more, they all decided that it would probably be easier to move in altogether. The third floor was one large, open room, that Patty suspected had been divided by walls at some point. Holtzmann insisted that she could rebuild the walls to create separate bedrooms for them. Erin called a contractor. 

Abby looked around at the girls unpacking their boxed and grinned. “Isn’t this awesome? It’s gonna be like a sleepover every night!” 

Patty laughed along with Abby as Erin mumbled something about never liking sleepovers. Holtzmann nudged her with her boot as she passed by. “Lighten up, Er. This will be better than any sleepover you’ve ever had.” 

Erin couldn’t help but meet Holtzmann’s smile with her own. “Yeah, sorry. I’m still tired from last night’s bust. I swear, that ectoplasm gets stickier every time.” 

Holtzmann and Abby cracked up, as they did every time Erin got slimed by a ghost. Patty patted Erin’s head affectionately as she walked by. She stopped in the middle of the room and looked around. “We need some furniture up in here. There’s room enough for a living room too, I think. If we get the bedrooms right.” 

“We can worry about that,” Abby said, “After we get someplace to sleep. Did everyone get their mattresses at least?” 

Patty and Erin nodded and pointed toward the mattresses leaned up against the wall. “Remind me to thank Kevin for helping us move stuff. He’s earned his pay more in the past few weeks of moving than he has as a receptionist,” Abby commented, then paused, eyebrows furrowing. “There are only three mattresses over there. Jillian?”

Holtzmann's head popped up from inside the large box she was rummaging through. A shirt got stuck on one of her bobby pins and dangled from her head. Patty started chuckling again. “Ah, well, funny story. About the mattress. Mine spontaneously combusted. I don’t have one.” 

“Don’t have one?” Erin asked. “Where have you been sleeping?”

“I found her lying on her workbench this morning,” Patty tsked. “Baby, you need to stop doing that. It’s bad for your back.”

Abby swore she saw Holtzmann’s expression shift when Patty called her ‘baby’, but maybe it was just Holtzmann making faces. 

“I will. I just won’t sleep until I get a new mattress. It’ll give me more time to work.” Holtzmann shrugged and pulled the shirt off her head, inspecting it. “Abby, is this your old shirt?”

“Probably,” Abby said. “You stole a lot of my clothes this last year. Keep it if it’s a t-shirt. You know I don’t wear them much.” 

“Cool beans.” 

“Wait, why does Holtzmann have your clothes again?” Erin asked, trying to see if this was going where she thought it was. “Did you two…?”

Abby didn’t meet Erin’s eyes. “Date?” 

“Yes.”

“It was never official,” Abby said, suddenly becoming very interested in arranging the mattresses in an orderly line against the wall. “We didn’t want to be unprofessional.” 

Holtzmann scoffed, “Please, we were far from professional. One time, in the lab-”

“Holtzmann!” Abby warned. 

“Why are you so curious anyways, Erin?” Patty asked, helping Abby move the mattresses before getting everyone blankets. 

“No reason! Just wondering!” Erin lied, very unconvincingly. 

“We dated,” Abby mumbled. Erin threw her a look, and Abby raised her hands in defense. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! It’s not like it was some big secret. Holtzmann, where are you going?”

“I just thought of a great idea for a weapon that…” Holtzmann trailed off as she dashed down the steps, still shouting, now incoherently, from the second floor. Abby stomped on the floor, trying to signal Holtzmann to shut up. 

“I better go make sure she doesn’t blow anything up,” Patty excused herself, eyeing Erin and Abby. 

As soon as Patty left, Abby went on the defense. “I don’t understand why you do this, Erin! We broke up!” 

“We didn’t want to though!” Erin raised her voice, just short of being audible from the second floor. “At least, I didn’t.” 

“Erin,” Abby walked over to her. “You know I didn’t. It was best for us at the time. Work was coming between us and then the whole book thing…We’ve had this discussion before. When you came back to talk about the book. We’ve been doing so much better. That’s not what’s bothering you, is it? What’s really the problem?” 

Abby slowly reached for Erin’s hand, not quite sure where the boundaries were anymore. Erin didn’t pull away, so Abby rested both their hands in Erin’s lap. Abby watched as Erin flexed her hands, a quirk Abby had become accustomed to when Erin was emotionally charged.

“It just that…” Erin curled her hands into fists and sighed. “Abby, I have a question.” 

“Yeah, Err-bear?” Abby tested the old nickname, hoping it would relax Erin a little more. She saw her shoulders drop a little and her fists uncurled, which was reassuring. 

“Have you ever...have you ever thought you were in love with more than one person?”

“Like, at the same time?” Abby asked, curious as to where this was going, but not wanting to sound off-put.

“Yeah.” Erin frowned, studying Abby’s reactions.

“I mean, probably. But I don’t see-” 

“Wait, sorry, let me clarify,” Erin interrupted. “Not like, you can’t choose among them. More like...like you don’t want to choose among them. Like you just want to give your love to all of them. Does that make sense?” 

“Yes,” Abby smiled softly. “It makes more sense to me than you think it does. I think I would say I have. Or am. I don’t know. You know I’ve always had trouble identifying platonic versus romantic feelings.” 

“I know,” Erin finally smiled back, apparently missing the hint Abby dropped with her use of present tense. 

“So,” Abby hesitated for a second, trying to figure out how to ask Erin to confirm her thoughts. “Is this a conversation you’re going to have with Patty and Holtzmann as well?”

Erin’s eyes widened. “But I didn’t-” 

“-mention them, I know. I think you forget how long we’ve known each other,” Abby bumped Erin with her shoulder. “I think they’ll be more accepting than you think they will Erin. You don’t have to bring it up until you’re ready though.” 

Erin nodded slowly and tightened her grip on Abby’s hand. Abby’s heart fluttered.  _ If my hunch is correct _ , Abby thought,  _ things around here are about to get  _ very  _ interesting. _

 

~~~~

 

“So, lemme get this straight,” Holtzmann leaned over her workbench, waving a wrench around. “Or, not straight I guess. Lemme get this gay.”

“Holtzy, just speak.” 

“You think Erin’s poly too?” Holtzmann finally asked. 

“Look,” Patty said. “I’m not saying she is or she isn’t. But she’s been acting funny since we started moving in. And you have to admit, we’ve all gotten really close. We’ve gotten closer in the past couple of weeks while moving than any group of people I’ve ever known. And not just like friendship close. Don’t think I haven’t seen the looks you give everyone, Holtzy.” 

“What can I say?” Holtzmann grinned, leaning closer to Patty, wanting a reaction. However, Patty was not phased in the slightest and didn’t move back. Their noses touched. “I’m a ladies lady.” 

“Yeah, yeah, baby,” Patty laughed, still unfazed by Holtzmann’s lack of regard for her personal space. “But things have definitely been weird around here, don’t you think?”

“Weird is the norm here,” Holtzmann said, finally breaking and backing away. She started fiddling with one of the many machines on her workbench. “But, yes, it has been extra weird lately. Even Abby seems off.” 

“Right? She’s been watching everyone like a freaking hawk. Like she’s tryna figure us out. But she’s also been going out of her way to include everyone in everything, too. Like she’s been asking me about my history books and stuff. It’s sweet.” 

“And Erin has been even more flustered lately,” Holtzmann laughed. “It’s not just from me anymore. Did you see her almost fall down the steps when she accidentally saw you changing yesterday? That was gold.” 

“Aw, be nice,” Patty scolded, kicking Holtzmann’s leg under the table. Holtzmann kicked back. “She’s obviously trying to sort out her feelings.” 

“I guess,” Holtzmann shrugged. “Do you think it’s safe to go back upstairs?”

“I think so,” Patty answered, standing up from the stool. “Should we bring this up? Or just let whatever happens happen?”

“Y’know, Patty,” Holtzmann walked around the workbench to bump into the taller woman, wrapping her arm around her. “I’ve always been a fan of just sitting back and waiting to see how things turn out.” 

“Last week you told me you liked to ‘poke things until they poked back or exploded’.” 

“Oh, I’m gonna poke. But not forcefully. You have to know with how much force to poke. For instance, you would poke a kitten much softer than you would poke a dragon.” 

“What is wrong with you?” Patty rolled her eyes, trying to hide her smile. 

 

~~~~

 

That night, there was a lingering tension in the room as everyone got ready to sleep. Erin was still on the defense from earlier. She could feel her anxiety lingering from her confession to Abby earlier that evening. She wanted so badly to talk to the other three about how she was feeling, but she was terrified that she would ruin their friendships. Their family. She sighed as she awkwardly squatted down onto her mattress. A foot nudged hers. She looked up. 

“Hey, I’m actually tired tonight, but I’m mattress-less. Mattless?” Holtzmann looked up, pondering whether her joke was satisfactory or not. “You seen a box big enough for me to fit in?”

“A box?” Erin studied Holtzmann’s face, trying to figure out if she was serious or not (an impossible task). 

“Yeah, like just a big ass box,” Holtzmann emphasized, spreading her arms out. Abby walked up behind Holtzmann and shook her head at Erin. 

“Jillian, stop asking everyone for a box,” Abby gently pushed Holtzmann’s arm down to rest at her sides again. Holtzmann comically made them spring back up, turning her head and grinning at Abby, who was much closer to her than necessary. 

Patty emerged from the bathroom, the only separated room on the third floor, “Holtzy, if we push the mattresses together, there will be plenty of room for all of us to sleep. If that’s alright with everyone, that is.” Patty eyed Erin in particular while suggesting this. 

“All of them?” Erin gulped. 

“Yeah,” Patty confirmed, as Holtzmann and Abby already began pushing the mattresses together. “Is that okay?”

“Of course!” Erin said a little too enthusiastically. “I mean, yes, it’s fine.”    


Erin crawled under her thin blanket as she felt the other girls move onto the mattresses. Holtzmann and Erin were in the middle, with Patty on Erin’s side. She tried closing her eyes to avoid thinking about the close proximity. This proved to be more difficult than originally anticipated when she eventually was surrounded by warm bodies. 

Holtzmann was as restless in her sleep as she was when she was awake, and Erin and Abby kept shoving her back and forth between each other. Holtzmann was also, apparently, an extremely heavy sleeper (when she actually slept). Abby finally turned on her side, facing away from everyone else. Erin used this opportunity to gently roll Holtzmann closer to Abby again, decided to turn over herself. She found herself watching Patty sleep soundly (on her back, which Erin added to her mental list of sleeping habits the Ghostbusters had). She thought about how, although she was terrified that this whole sleeping situation was going to be incredibly awkward, it wasn’t at all. In fact, none of them had ever had a better night’s sleep. 

 

~~~~

 

Erin woke up to find herself alone. She didn’t expect to be so disappointed when she looked around for any signs of the other girls. She groaned and covered her face.  _ Stupid stupid stupid _ . 

She didn’t bother to change out of her pajamas as she slowly crept downstairs,  She paused when she heard her name. 

“I’m telling you, Erin just needs a little shove. I know we shouldn’t pressure her but after last night not being awkward, she may have the courage to talk about it with us!” Patty’s voice, ever loud, echoed through the second floor. Abby shushed her and she covered her mouth. “Sorry, but it’s true. Right, Holtzy?”

Erin heard clanging of metal and knew Holtzmann was already at work, dismantling some weapon. “A little poke. Like a mama bird would poke ‘er baby out of the nest. We have to poke Erin and hope that she flies and doesn’t go splat!” Holtzmann slapped her hand loudly on the table to add her dramatic flair to her statement. 

“God, you two, I don’t know,” Abby’s voice was added to the conversation. “She was really freaked out about it. I think she thinks we’ll freak out and disband the Ghostbusters or something.” 

Erin laughed to herself. Abby could still read her like a book. Her laugh quickly turned to a sigh of resignation. She had to face them eventually. Erin slowly padded into the room, and three heads turned to look at her. 

Not sure whether Erin had heard their conversation or not, Abby overcompensated with her enthusiasm as she chimed, “Good morning, sleepyhead! You look a little rough. Sleep okay?” 

Abby mentally chided at herself.  _ Pretty sure we know how we all slept. Good topic change there, Yates. _

“Yeah, I slept fine,” Erin replied, making her way over to where Patty and Abby were sitting. “Better than I expected to.” 

Abby nodded and glanced at Patty, looking for any sign of - well she wasn’t sure what she was looking for. Maybe for a signal as to whether they should bring up their situation (or “Our Thing”, as Holtzmann was calling it). However, Patty was useless right now, because Holtzmann had started dancing while she worked again, and she was watching her with a grin on her face. Abby sighed and finally broke the silence. 

“Erin, we need to talk.” Abby hesitated and quickly added, remembering how that phrase spiked Erin’s anxiety. “It’s not a bad talk, I promise.” 

Erin flexed her hand under the table. “I know we need to.” 

Patty came back to the conversation, noticing Erin tense up, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Breathe, baby.” 

Holtzmann yanked her earbuds out, noticing the tensions rise in the room, but she stayed at her workbench, still observing the conversation. Abby looked expectantly at Erin, hoping she would start spilling her feelings. However, Erin just stared fixedly at the table, obviously wracking her brain, analyzing every detail of what she wanted to say. Nobody rushed her. They weren’t sure how much time passed of Patty rubbing small circles into Erin’s back, Abby and Holtzmann glancing at everyone, and Erin tapping her foot anxiously. Finally, Erin spoke up. 

“I think - I know,” Erin corrected, “that I have been having...feelings, to put it simply, for all of you. At first, I thought it was a simple matter of confusion because of sudden close proximity and adrenaline with all the busts and such...” 

Abby gave her a look that said she was rambling, so she tried to make it to her point. Erin started again. 

“It was weird though, because when I saw how close everyone has been getting, I haven’t been getting jealous. Like, when Patty calls Holtzmann ‘baby’. or Abby and Holtzmann do their little secret handshake, or Abby and Patty discuss researching, I don’t think, ‘Oh, I want them to pay attention to me and do things like that with me.’ Okay, I do a little bit, but there’s also this feeling of, ‘I love that we love each other’, and I don’t know what this means, and it’s driving me crazy.” 

Erin breathed heavily, as she had said all of that very quickly, barely pausing.

“Well.” Erin jumped as she was reminded of Holtzmann’s presence. “It seems like we all have a lot more in common than being badass ladies who enjoy bad takeout food.” 

Erin looked at her quizzically. Holtzmann elaborated, “For a genius, you can be oblivious, Err. Haven’t you noticed how buddy-buddy we’ve all been while we were moving? How I conveniently needed the beds pushed together? I’m pretty sure Abby and Patty were holding hands at one point yesterday. And don’t even get me started on-” 

“What Holtzy is trying to say,” Patty interrupted, “Is that we’ve all kinda noticed that we have ‘feelings’ for each other. I think us three,” she gestured to Abby and Holtzmann, “Just sort of accepted it and weren’t gonna discuss it. Just sorta let it be.”

“But then we started noticing that you were getting bothered,” Abby finished Patty’s thought. “So, we decided that we needed to talk about this. About our…"

“Our Thing,” Holtzmann chimed in, grinning. 

Erin looked at all of them, processing everything they were saying (also the fact that they were finishing each other’s sentences). “So, you all never even talked about it? You were just going to let it happen and not say anything?”

“I’m sure we would’ve brought it up eventually,” Patty said. 

“Maybe not our best plan,” Holtzmann made a face. 

“But we’re talking now,” Abby added. “And we all think that maybe we should make Our Thing official. Even if it’s just trying it out and seeing how it works for us.” 

“But what if it doesn’t work?” Erin tried saying calmly. “What if we ruin our job, or more importantly, our friendships?”

“We’ve done this before, Erin,” Abby said quietly. “We thought we ruined what we had. But look at us now! We both came back.” 

“Do you believe in soulmates?” Holtzmann asked, chewing on the arm of her glasses. “Because I have this theory that people are drawn together because their atoms were in the same place when the universe came into fruition. And if we stray too far, we come back. Like gay magnets. So, if we were to get pulled apart, god forbid, by some force, whether it be outside circumstances or our own doing, I feel like we’d come back together eventually. Because I feel like our atoms were meant to be together.” 

Holtzmann suddenly became very interested in buttoning her shirt as she finished speaking. The others all smiled lovingly at her. She looked up and gave them a “what?” look. 

“You’re adorable, Holtzy,” Patty grinned. “But everything she said is true, Erin. It won’t ruin what we have. I’m no scientist, but I hypothesize,” She paused and glanced at Abby, as if looking for confirmation that this was, in fact, the proper use of the word (or possibly that it was the right word altogether; she mistook Kate Middleton’s name for McKinnon last week, and nobody knew where she got the name McKinnon from). Abby nodded for her to continue, smirking slightly. “I hypothesize that if we try this, it’ll end up better rather than worse.” 

Erin considered this. After some thought, she almost silently murmured, “I just don’t want to lose you guys.” 

Patty instantly embraced Erin, patting her back as she felt her start to shake. Holtzmann sprang over the workbench, and both she and Abby joined in as well. 

“If you’re not ready, we won’t make it official or anything,” Abby reassured Erin.

“Yeah,” Holtzmann said, pulling back from the hug. “We’ll just go back to being weirdly close friends who flirt with each other a lot. No biggie.” 

Abby shot Holtzmann a glare that clearly said “ _ You are not helping _ .”

“No, no,” Erin mumbled, stepping back from all of them. “I want this. We want this.” She looked among them, trying to confirm that they all three did, in fact, want this (she was still in disbelief). Patty and Abby nodded. Holtzmann shot her finger guns and a wink. Erin smiled. 

“I’m ready.” 

**Author's Note:**

> if you have a craving for more polybusters you should check out my drabbles for them and also I yell about them on tumblr (holtzsexual) a lot so yknow :) thanks for reading <3


End file.
